September 26, 2006
The Workplace Flexibility 2010 News Roundup is a compilation of the latest news articles, reports and other materials related to workplace flexibility. The News Roundup appears twice-weekly. If you have questions about any of the items, please contact Jennifer Hedrick at jlh62@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Work-Life Leader is Firm on Need for Flexibility
"Here's someone you should know. Chances are, her work has touched your life. As a director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Kathleen Christensen has given away $90 million in the past dozen years to scholars, nonprofits, and nonpartisan advocacy groups in the burgeoning field of work-life.”
Awards Boost University Career Flexibility
"Five universities are being recognized Monday for infusing more flexibility into the academic career path. The awards aim to promote the idea that universities, like businesses, need to revise an outdated model of work that assumed scholars would have a spouse to take care of the home front. While such issues are particularly critical for women's careers, flexibility advocates say, both men and women are increasingly wanting a better work-life balance.” Mentions Kathleen Christensen.
Lawyers Who Take Time Off Face Tough Return
"Law firms are not known for innovative thinking when it comes to their hiring practices. Top firms typically focus on recruiting graduates from prestigious law schools and wooing laterals from competitors. So what happens to attorneys who step off the 70-hour-per-week fast track, as many professional women (and a few men) do at some point in their careers, to spend more time with their children or to tend to other family responsibilities?”
Best Companies for Working Moms Listed
"Working Mother magazine released its annual list of the top 100 places to work, with its chief executive touting an improvement in mother-friendly benefits in corporate America.”
The Thinkers: She Studies 'I-deals,' Perks for Individual Employees
"At many businesses in the United States and Europe…between 25 percent and 35 percent of all employees have bargained for special workplace arrangements, which [Dr. Denise Rousseau] calls idiosyncratic deals, or ‘i-deals.’ The i-deals can take many forms: reduced or flexible hours, working from home, travel limitations, child-care assistance and career development opportunities.”
Press Releases
Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Pair for New Initiative
“Working Mother magazine, the authoritative source for career-committed mothers, and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, a national consulting firm advising attorneys and legal employers on work-life balance and retaining and promoting women, today announced that they will join forces to introduce the 2007 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women. The list will debut in the September 2007 issue of Working Mother magazine.”
Transcripts
Profile: American Companies Offering More Flextime for Mothers
"It's not a new question, but it's still one of the toughest questions millions of Americans face every day, that balance between work and family, sometimes known as `having it all.' There is a glimmer of good news on that front now. More and more American companies are realizing that helping working mothers succeed helps their own bottom line.”